KUCHING, July 9: The man who impersonated a doctor at the Stadium Perpaduan Kuching vaccination centre (PPV) was never assigned to a duty throughout his disguise period.
Sarawak Health (JKNS) director Dato Dr Mohamed Sapian Mohamed, in a statement today, said the 20-year-old suspect who pleaded guilty to the offence at the Kuching Magistrate Court on July 6, came once in a while to the PPV since June 16.
“The outcome of the internal investigation by the JKNS found that the individual disguised as ‘Dr Shah’ and introduced himself as a Graduate Medical Officer from Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), informed that he only came to help if there was a slot but never reported for official duty. No assignment was given to him who was always seen in the registration room.
“The impostor was never listed in the official duty schedule set for all Ministry of Health (MOH) staff and volunteers at the Stadium Perpaduan PPV. In fact, each station chief in the PPV will usually ensure that all staff will fill in the check-in-check out (CICO) process each time they are on duty. All vaccinators on duty will be required to have an Annual Practice Certificate before being allowed to give injections,” he said.
Dr Sapian further said investigations at the SGH, on the other hand, found that the name and Department Staff Pass used by the impostor were fake.
“He has never worked as a vaccinator at SGH PPV or a volunteer besides having no record of self-declaration screening that must be made every time he enters work.
“Meanwhile, his avowal as a Graduate Medical Officer in the Neurology Division, SGH, is still under investigation,” he added.
Following the case, the JKNS has issued immediate improvement instructions to the management of Stadium Perpaduan Kuching PPV and also SGH to prevent the same thing from happening again.
Among the actions involved are issuance of officer pass at the PPV with serial number registered for each officer and each officer’s name has been submitted to the police officer in charge at the PPV; strict enforcement by the station chief to ensure attendance registration on every shift; and all medical practitioners on duty must be able to provide Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) at any time.
Apart from that, there would be strict control on the entry points of SGH; compliance inspection and update reminders of the use of relevant passes in all wards including offices in particular and hospital areas in general; strict action on forgery of department staff passes which are official government documents; and issuance of posters regarding the offence of impersonating as a civil servant.
“Therefore, the JKNS appeals to all parties who visit the MOH facilities such as PPV and hospitals to always cooperate with the security guards who only carry out the task of ensuring compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOP) safety in these facilities.
“All staff were also informed to report immediately to the PPV management and the hospital if they came across suspicious individuals in their respective areas,” said Dr Sapian. — DayakDaily
